I had a planned procedure for my hand scheduled for Friday which meant no fishing for me this weekend, thus I decided I better take a day off of work and fish while I could. I decided to go to my favorite bass spot, Stevenson WA. I decided to go even though the wind forecast was a bit brisker than I would have preferred -  if you wait for conditions to be perfect  you aren't going to fish very often

 

The day started out slow for me. I figured the bass HAD to be up shallow give that the water temp was in the low 50s. I spent an hour unsuccessfully trying to prove that I was right. I continued to fish shallow off and on throughout the day but I never had so much as a sniff on a moving bait all day.

 

Fortunately I eventually conceded and started fishing my deeper water pattern. The first spot I hit was a fairly nothing 20' flat near a big commercial dock. I think it is a good staging area for prespawn bass since it is close to some shallows that look like good spawning grounds. My first cast with a drop shot brought my first fish of the day, a nice little 1lb 10oz bass. Getting the skunk off makes it so much easier to relax and fish!

 

That spot produced 4 more fish on the drop shot and then seemed like it died. I moved off of that spot and then went back to beating some shallow water (I really wanted to catch fish on moving baits). That of course was a dud and so I ended up at a small rocky structure in 25' that has been on fire for me this year. The magic spot did not disappoint. I caught 3 bass in pretty short order but decided that since the wind was out of the East that I should move to my Westernmost spot and fish my way back to this spot later in the day.

 

The next spot I went to is a popular spot and I was happy that no one was on it (not too surprising for a Wednesday). I tried the drop shot but the current in that spot made fishing the drop shot hard in the kayak so I switched to throwing a 1/2oz wobblehead with Zoom Z-craw trailer. That ended up being the right bait for the conditions and my top producer by far for the day. I relentlessly pounded that spot for several hours and pulled over 20 fish from that general area, once again in 20-25' of water. The wobblehead was perfect since I could throw it a mile into the wind, it go to the bottom quickly and I could fish it at a good pace while keeping it on the bottom.

 

The only change I made was at some point I switched from 1/2oz to 3/4oz because the current seemed to have picked up a bit. I also occasionally mixed in some casts with a Ned rig (1/4oz) but the wobblehead was the star.

 

So the bulk of my fish and all my best fish came off this spot. My best 5 was not great (only 13lb 6oz) and my best fish was only a 3lb 10iz but the action was fast and furious so I didn't complain. The only difficulty is that I had to slowly pedal all day long just to stay in place. If I stopped I would start drifting downstream at 2mph. So a little after noon I decided to fish my way back to the ramp. I of course immediately started fruitlessly beating the shallows again as I worked my way back upstream.

 

Eventually I got tired of all the casting and not catching so I went out to my magic rock. I had not caught a fish in the last hour or so of beating the shallows so it felt awesome with I hooked up on my first cast on the magic rock! I am not sure how many bass I pulled off that spot, maybe a 1/2 dozen or so but I had a stretch of 4 consecutive fish on 4 casts. Once again, the size was not impressive but the fish were hungry and they put up a good fight on my light spinning rod. Eventually I decided I should start to head home since I was getting tired from the constant pedaling.

 

As I headed towards the ramp I checked my fish counter and saw that I had 38 bass.  I just had to get to 40 so as I was pedaling back I marked a fish on my graph. I cast out and immediately caught it. Now I just needed one more. Why is it so hard to catch that last fish!!

 

I tried 3 spots without a sniff and I was almost to the ramp. I decided I would carefully fish the point closest to the ramp. As I worked my way along the point I felt pressure when I lifted my Ned rig. Wow, "This has some weight", I thought. I knew I had something big on. Turns out it was  a really big stick

 

However, I redeemed myself a few minutes later by landing my 40th bass and I called it a day. It was a lot of work but man was it worth it. I usually don't catch quite those numbers on the Columbia so that was a real treat. So my midweek trip was a big success and tehn my procedure on Friday went well (needle fasciotomy for Dupuytren's contraction) so it was a good week!

 

Here are pics of my two best fish and the video of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that is one heck of a good day. Nice job.

40 bass, buddy! I love 40-bass trips. I think your bag is solid too. River smallies never grow as thick as slackwater, slacking smallies, but they sure grow feisty...and fun. I'm a week or so away from 40-bass trips, but I'm glad you're already there! Lastly, I love your tenacity. 

Very nice.

I thought fish didn't bite on an east wind 😳

Nice day on the water 👍

Nicely Done Sir !

You're an inspiration.

40 bass from Big water, with Big Wind and in a Kayak no less.

And I do love a wide open wobblehead bite myself.

Heal up that hand and go again !

A-Jay

Thanks everyone!

 

@Bird the east wind is usually good around here if it is fishable. 

 

@Swamp Girl you will be putting up big numbers of big fish soon!

 

@A-Jay the wobblehead is so underrated. Maybe we should keep it secret

3 minutes ago, pdxfisher said:

@Swamp Girl you will be putting up big numbers of big fish soon!

 

I'm launching tomorrow afternoon. It rained hard yesterday, with temps in the low fifties, and it's drizzling today, with temps in the forties, but tomorrow, we're supposed to hit 70 degrees for the first time in 2025. I'll let the water warm all day and launch in the evening. Fingers crossed the warm days heats up the fishing!

Sounds promising! I look forward to some pictures of some big fatties!

1 hour ago, pdxfisher said:

Sounds promising! I look forward to some pictures of some big fatties!

 

I hope you're right. I have my lures planned, as well as the route I'll paddle. 

A 40 bass day!  You nailed it!